FleX-BLE Transition PCB User Guide

Proprietary Information

February 2021

FleX-BLE Programming Transition PCB User GuideAS_DEVBLES02.ASB

© 2021 American Semiconductor, Inc. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

• Introduction

• Features

• Hardware Setup for Development

• Recommended IDE and Software Development Kit

• Programming Firmware on the FleX-BLE Dev Kit

• Debugging the FleX-BLE Dev Kit Firmware

• Known Issues

Proprietary Information 2


Purpose

The FleX-BLE Dev Kit comes pre-programmed for immediate operation as a Bluetooth® Low-Energy

(BLE) beacon for demonstration purposes. However, most users will want to develop their own FleX-

BLE firmware and hardware systems. This user guide is designed help users get started on developing

their own Flexible Hybrid Electronics systems that incorporate FleX-BLE.


ID Label on Back of

FleX-BLE Dev Kit


Introduction

• The FleX-BLE Programming Transition PCB is designed to support user product development and serve as a

bridge between the American Semiconductor FleX-BLE Dev Kit Flexible Hybrid Electronics System and Nordic

Semiconductor’s nRF51 Series Dev Kit


Nordic Semiconductor Dev Kit

for nRF51 SeriesSold by Nordic Semi and Distributors

FleX-BLE Programming Transition

Printed Circuit Board Assembly

AS_DEVBLES02.asb

FleX-BLE Dev Kit

Flexible Hybrid Electronics System

AS_DEVBLES02.kit

Features



FleX-BLE Programming Transition PCB Key Features


Breakout Panel

CR2032

Battery

Holder

Mini-USB

Plug

ZIF

Connecto

r to

Fle

X-B

LE

Dev K

it

Wakeup

Button

Reset

Button

LEDsU

AR

T

Acce

ss

Program

& Debug

Connector

On/Off

Sig

nal H

eader


Powering the FleX-BLE Dev Kit and Transition PCB

• The FleX-BLE Dev Kit Programming Transition PCB can be used to provide power to the FleX-BLE Dev Kit

through the Zero-Insertion Force (ZIF) connector

• The Programming Transition PCB can be powered through either the CR2032 battery holder or the mini-USB

plug connected to a USB power source

• The current flowing into the FleX-BLE Dev Kit can be measured at the Current Measurement Breakout pins


CR2032

Battery

Holder

Mini-USB

Plug

FleX-BLE Dev Kit Current

Measurement Breakout


Reset and Wakeup Buttons

• The Reset Button connects to FleX-BLE pin SWDIO/nRESET and resets the FleX-BLE chip when pressed

• The Wakeup Button connects to FleX-BLE pin P18 and can be used for waking the FleX-BLE chip from Deep

Sleep mode or as a user-programmable function


Wakeup

Button

Reset

Button


User Programmable LEDs

• The On/Off switch turns off power to the main portion of the Programming Transition board and the FleX-BLE

Dev Kit

• The red Power Indicator LED turns on when power is applied to the Programming Transition board and the

switch is in the On position

• 3 User Programmable LEDs on the Programming Transition board can be connected to the FleX-BLE Dev Kit

LED Port Pins P14, P15 and P16 by shorting the adjacent breakouts


On/Off Power Switch

3 User Programmable LEDs

Power Indicator LED

P14-P16 Breakouts that must be

shorted to connect the LEDs

to the Port Pins


Breakout Panel and Signal Header

• The Signal Header provides easy access to FleX-BLE Dev Kit Port pins for analog and digital input/output

• The Breakout Panel provides area for breadboard-style system development including signal monitoring,

analog sensor connections, and digital input/output


Breakout Panel

GND

3V VDD

Signal Header


Program and Debug Connector


Nordic Semiconductor Dev Kit

for nRF51 Series

Sold separately by Nordic Semi and Distributors


Fine-pitch (25 mil) ribbon cable

Nordic Dev Kit Debug Out

• The Program and Debug Connector is used to connect the ribbon cable to the Nordic Semiconductor nrF51

Series Dev Kit PCB Debug out.



• When performing program and debug operations of the FleX-BLE chip on the ASI FleX-BLE Dev Kit, the two

shorting jumpers must be applied as shown below. These connect power and ground from the ASI Dev Kit to

the ribbon cable and are sensed by the Nordic nRF51 Dev Kit to direct programming signals through the ribbon

cable to the FleX-BLE.


Program and Debug

Connector

Debug Connector Power and

Ground Sense Shorting Block


UART Breakout

• Shorting the UART Breakout pins will connect the FleX-BLE chip’s four UART signals (P08 - P11) to the UART

signals that come through the FTDI chip and from the Mini-USB connector (when connected to a host

computer).

• The UART to USB connection allows sending a serial debug stream from the FleX-BLE firmware to a terminal

on the host computer.


UART Breakout

Shown with shorting blocks

Mini-USB Connector

FTDI Chip

Hardware Setup for Development



Connecting the FleX-BLE Dev Kit


1. Open the ZIF Connector on the Programming Transition PCB by pulling outward on the outer shell.

2. Gently slide the ZIF tail on the FleX-BLE Dev Kit into the ZIF connector slot.

• CAUTION: ESD Sensitive components. Use appropriate grounding procedures.

3. While gently pressing the Dev Kit into the slot, slowly pinch the ZIF Connector closed.

4. The connector fingers should be ~70% inside the ZIF and aligned to the connector when closed, as shown.

1 2 3, 4


Connecting a Host Computer to the Nordic Dev Kit and to the FleX-BLE Programming Transition board

• There are multiple methods to provide power to the

development kit boards, but we typically recommend

using power from USB cables connected to the Host.

• Connect a mini-USB cable to the ASI FleX-BLE Dev Kit

• Connect a micro-USB cable to the Nordic nRF51 Dev Kit

board.

• Connect the debug ribbon cable from the Nordic board

Debug Out to the ASI Program and Debug

Connector

• Turn on the Power Switches. The Power-on LEDs for each

board will light up.

• Use the Reset button on the Nordic board (not the FleX-

BLE Transition Reset) to restart the FleX-BLE chip

whenever the debug ribbon is connected.


Recommended IDE and Software Development Kit



Firmware Development Environment

• The FleX-BLE Dev Kit includes an AS_NRF51822P.fxd flexible chip

– a custom packaged version of Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF51822

BLE chip

• This allows the use of the Nordic nRF51 development tools and

resources for code development

• We recommend the Keil uVision5 IDE for development on the FleX-

BLE Dev Kit. The Nordic supported Keil installation is described at:

http://infocenter.nordicsemi.com/pdf/getting_started_nRF5SDK_keil.pdf

• Further information on setting up and programming is found in the

Nordic infocenter.

https://infocenter.nordicsemi.com/index.jsp?topic=%2Fug_gsg_keil%2FU

G%2Fgsg%2Fintro.html

• Problems and questions can be searched and addressed using the

Nordic DevZone Community.

https://devzone.nordicsemi.com


http://infocenter.nordicsemi.com/pdf/getting_started_nRF5SDK_keil.pdf

https://infocenter.nordicsemi.com/index.jsp?topic=%2Fug_gsg_keil%2FUG%2Fgsg%2Fintro.html

https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/


Nordic Software Development Kit

• Download the Nordic Software Development Kit v12.3.0 – higher versions of the SDK are not compatible with

the nRF51 series. The SDK contains many examples with source code for this Kit with the Keil IDE. The S130

soft device is preferred for the nRF51 Series

Go to: https://www.nordicsemi.com/Software-and-tools/Software/nRF5-SDK/Download#infotabs

▪ Click on 12.3.0 nRF5 SDK bubble

▪ Click on the S130 bubble

▪ Check your selections, then click the Download files box.


• One problem we have often seen when compiling the

SDK examples is an error complaining of a missing

‘nrf_erratas.h’ file. This may be corrected by adjusting the

DeviceFamilyPacks version selected by the compiler.

Search the DevZone for comments on this problem or

contact ASI for a solution.

https://www.nordicsemi.com/Software-and-tools/Software/nRF5-SDK/Download#infotabs


Nordic Command Line Programmer

• Nordic has also a command line interface program

and Python interface for loading and executing

firmware without the Keil IDE, called ‘nrfjprog’.

• As of this time, we recommend the nRF Command

Line Tools from the products and articles found using

with this search result:

https://www.nordicsemi.com/search?query=nrfjprog


https://www.nordicsemi.com/search?query=nrfjprog

Programming Firmware on the FleX-BLE Dev Kit



Program Firmware into the FleX-BLE Dev Kit

• Connect the Dev Kit board hardware as on Slides 15 and 16 for programming.

• Load the firmware through the N-Devkit with either the Keil/uVision IDE (left image) or with the

Nordic ‘nrfjprog’ program (right image). These programs search the connected USB ports for

compatible hardware when set up according to Nordic instructions.


Debugging the FleX-BLE Dev Kit Firmware



Setup for FleX-BLE Firmware Debug Over USB

• After programming new FleX-BLE firmware into the FleX-BLE Dev Kit, you may need to debug the

code operation.

• If not already connected, install a USB-mini cable from the Host computer to the mini-USB

connector on the FleX-BLE Programming Transition PCB.

• A terminal emulator program is required for the Host to display debug text from a USB device. We

recommend the open-source PuTTY (www.putty.org) for its versatility and ease of use.

• The following slides describe a setup using PuTTY to monitor the USB connection.


http://www.putty.org/


Terminal Settings for Debug using PuTTY

• After connecting a mini-USB cable from the PC to the FleX-BLE Programming Transition board,

a new device named “FT231X USB UART” will appear in the “Control Panel > Devices and

Printers” view on the PC.

• Right-click and open the properties/hardware tab of the new device to determine the COM# port.

• Default serial output from the firmware is 115,200 baud with RTS/CTS flow control.

• Set the PC terminal to:

Serial connection

COM# port as determined

115200 baud

8 bits, 1 stop bit, no parity

RTS/CTS flow control (optional)

Implicit CR in every LF

Other features as desired for appearance and usability

• PuTTY stores groups of terminal settings into the Host registry, not in *.settings files in the file

system.



Configuring PuTTY to Observe FleX-BLE Debug Data



Example FleX-BLE Debug Data



Coding for Debug

• Currently, our serial communication is one way – FleX-BLE chip out to Host terminal only.

• Debug output is coded in ASI firmware using custom print statements which buffer the printout and

schedule output to the UART ports for times when critical chip functions are not busy. It is best to

keep the number and length of debug prints short to prevent loss of information.

Example:

▪ _dprintf("Data: %s Encoded: %s\n", data, name);

• Source code from ASI example projects may be provided for qualified purchasers.

• Released versions of the code may disable the _dprintf function and the associated UART block to

optimize power usage, if desired.



Known Issues

29


Known Issues

• Disclaimers

FleX-BLE Firmware and Smartphone App are provided for demonstration of basic functionality.

No guarantees of performance or continued support are implied.

• FleX-BLE Temperature Beacon Firmware, version 0.0.5

When the Tag is reset, the App will stop graphing data from that tag. Restart the App to resume. All previous log data

will be lost.

With the flat debug ribbon cable connecting the Nordic and ASI development kits, only the Reset button on the Nordic

board is functional.

On power-up with the debug ribbon installed, an infinite reset loop may be entered. Press the Nordic Reset button to

correct this state.

No calibration adjustment for temperature offset is done at ASI for individual tags.

Occasional samples may be lost from the export log due to timing or communication irregularities.

Calculation of remaining battery life (%) is approximate, based on linear voltage reduction from 3.3V down to 2.1V

Debug output may be delayed when the chip is busy running the radio or other blocks.

Too much debug printing in a short time may cause lost or garbled text.

• FleX-BLE Temperature Beacon App, version 1.2.3

The App has been tested on a very small subset of available Android phones.

Tapping the configuration button will crash the App


6987 W Targee St

Boise, ID 83709

Tel: 208.336.2773

Fax: 208.336.2752

www.americansemi.com

American Semiconductor© 2021 American Semiconductor, Inc. All rights reserved.

American Semiconductor is a registered trademark of American Semiconductor, Inc.

FleX, Silicon-on-Polymer, FleX-IC, FleX-ADC, FleX-BLE, FleX-NFC, FleX-OpAmp,

FleX-SoC, FleX-MCU and FleXform are trademarks of American Semiconductor, Inc.

Bluetooth is a registered trademark of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group

FTDI is an acronym for Future Technology Devices International

Disclaimers:

• FleX-BLE Firmware and Smartphone App are provided for demonstration of basic functionality.

• No guarantees of performance or continued support are implied.

• For qualified purchasers of the FleX-BLE Dev Kit, American Semiconductor may be willing to provide the firmware and app codes for users to

develop and customize their own applications.

FleX-BLE Transition PCB User Guide

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